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Quality of life and need for care in patients with an ostomy: a survey of 2647 patients of the Berlin OStomy-Study (BOSS)

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Abstract

Background

Although ostomies are sometimes necessary, it is unclear which type of ostomy is advantageous for quality of life (QoL). In an observational study of 2647 patients, QoL after colostomy (CS) and small bowel stoma (SBS) formation was evaluated.

Methods

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-QLQ-C30 and CR-38 questionnaires were used. Patient characteristics, retrospective information about the ostomy and previous treatments, and current stoma-related complications were recorded. All questionnaires were distributed and collected by stoma therapists at the homecare company PubliCare®.

Results

In all, 1790 patients had a CS, and 756 had an SBS. The mean Global Health Score (mGHS—a general QoL indicator) was 52.33 in CS and 49.40 in SBS patients (p = 0.004), but the effect size (Cohen’s d) was 0.1. In SBS patients, all functional scores were lower and most of the symptom scores were higher.

Conclusions

QoL differed significantly for CS and SBS patients, but the effect size was marginal. The care of certain patient groups, particularly (female) patients who receive emergency surgeries, must be improved. More professional education and guidance are necessary for a larger proportion of patients. This survey provided reference data for quality of life in patients with an ostomy.

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Acknowledgments

The company PubliCare®, located in Cologne, Germany, supported this study by contacting the patients and collecting the data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General- and Visceral Surgery St. Josef Hospital, Ruhr University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Chris Braumann

  2. Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Campus Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Verena Müller, Moritz Knies, Birgit Aufmesser & Gerold Koplin

  3. Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Campus Virchow, Berlin, Germany

    Verena Müller, Moritz Knies, Birgit Aufmesser & Gerold Koplin

  4. Department of General and Visceral Surgery, MIS, Asklepios Klinik Altona, Hamburg, Germany

    Wolfgang Schwenk

Authors
  1. Chris Braumann
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  2. Verena Müller
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  3. Moritz Knies
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  4. Birgit Aufmesser
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  5. Wolfgang Schwenk
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  6. Gerold Koplin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerold Koplin.

Ethics declarations

The Declaration of Helsinki was observed, and consent was obtained from all patients.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Chris Braumann and Verena Müller made equal contributions to the article, and both are considered to be first authors.

Questionnaires were distributed and collected by the homecare company PubliCare GmbH, Am Wassermann 20-22; 50 829 Köln, Germany.

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Braumann, C., Müller, V., Knies, M. et al. Quality of life and need for care in patients with an ostomy: a survey of 2647 patients of the Berlin OStomy-Study (BOSS). Langenbecks Arch Surg 401, 1191–1201 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-016-1507-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-016-1507-z

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